Doncaster RLFC v Oxford: Dons aim to honour former legends

Steve Hossack

The Dons will be looking to put on a show for the club’s former legends in tomorrow’s League One clash against lowly Oxford at the Keepmoat Stadium (3pm), writes Steve Hossack.

Among the former players who will lead the two teams out is New Zealander Sonny Whakarau who is making his first visit to the country in nearly 20 years.

One of the stars of the side which won promotion to the top flight in the early 90s, Whakarau is a former Batley team-mate of Dons head coach Gary Thornton.

“I’m looking forward to seeing him again,” he told The Star.

It will be Oxford’s second visit to the stadium this season, having lost 54-4 in a pre-season friendly.

But despite the fact that they have lost all eight league games, Thornton is predicting a much tougher game.

“Obviously it’s a game we’ll be looking to win, but we’ve got to guard against any complacency creeping in,” he said.

“Likewise supporters shouldn’t be expecting us to win by a similar score. They had a lot of trialists in their team that day and they have a lot more settled side now and they’ve picked up a few decent players.”

Thornton will make a late decision on prop Mark Castle, who had looked likely to miss several games earlier in the week, and skipper Kyle Kesik.

“We are getting players back and we were able to have a 13 versus 13 game in training on Thursday for the first time which was very useful, so we don’t need to risk anyone who is not 100 per cent,” said Thornton.